Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and his Independent challenger, state Treasurer Tim Cahill disagreed at Monday's Cape Wind debate over the amount of state subsidies given to solar panel manufacturer Evergreen Solar Inc. Cahill had the figure at $68 million. Patrick's was a much more conservative " $20, $21 million."

Cahill came out strong in the debate against what he called the current administration's "commitment to picking winners and losers" with subsidies and tax credits.

"I don't think we're in a position to be giving out too many subsidies at all, given our economic straits that we're in right now and given our budgetary constraints," he said. He claimed that the $68 million in incentives was out of line, particularly because they had allegedly shipped jobs overseas to China.

Enter The Boston Globe. Today's fact check puts the back-and-forth under the microscope and rules against Patrick on the amount of incentives given to Evergreen Solar, but also against Cahill in his claim that the company has already shipped jobs overseas. Read more here »

Monday's debate showed the value of having more than the standard two-party candidates behind the mic at a gubernatorial debate, turning the event into a discussion of the issues from four unique perspectives.

Cahill finished off the night with a call for inclusion of him and Stein in future debates. The Globe editorialized today that the two "bring thoughtful, distinct perspectives the voters deserve to hear."

But a column last week from Open Media Boston points out that a media consortium representing most of the major outlets on the eastern part of the state provided the outsider candidates with conditions that would have to be met in order for them to be included in their debates. According to Stein's website, the conditions include "raising $100,000 in campaign funds and achieving at least a 5-percent score in election polls."

These requirements won't likely affect Cahill, who at many points in the race has outmatched even Baker and Patrick in campaign cash.